


silver tongue and steel back (torture doesn't break you)

by MadHare0512



Series: Author's Favorites [26]
Category: Markiplier Egos, Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF), Who Killed Markiplier? (Web Series), jacksepticeye, jacksepticeye egos - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Alternant Universe - Powers, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempted Kidnapping, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Author's Favorite, Canon-Typical Violence, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, M/M, Mafia Ipliers, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Torture, Psychological Trauma, The Author Regrets Nothing, Torture, but i feel it's important to put in, mafia, possessive, the graphic warning isn't like big or anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:27:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27871530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadHare0512/pseuds/MadHare0512
Summary: They'd kidnapped Jameson first. It would be harder to sneak up on someone who didn't make much noise on their own but not impossible.They'd taken Henrik next, ambushing him as he left the office where he and Edward worked.Anti was taken last, using his brother as bait and insurance."I know it hurts," Wilford murmured as he carved another letter into the man's skin. "Truly, you should've known better. Everyone knows we're territorial. I don't why you thought you could touch what was ours and get away with it."
Relationships: Danti, Darkiplier/Antisepticeye, Dr. Iplier/Dr. Henrik Von Schneeplestein, Googleplier/Chase Brody, Jameson Jackson/Wilford Warfstache, Minor or Background Relationship(s), dapperstache, googleaverage, schneepiplier - Relationship
Series: Author's Favorites [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1529300
Kudos: 31





	silver tongue and steel back (torture doesn't break you)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so. This marks one of the first stories I've written for this fandom at the request of a dear friend. I'd appreciate it of you'd read it. Thanks for stopping by!

silver tongue and steel back (torture doesn't break you)

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

**AU: Mafia** **, Powers**

"I know it hurts," Wilford murmured as he carved another letter into the man's skin. "Truly, you should've known better. Everyone knows we're territorial. I don't why you thought you could touch what was ours and get away with it."

The man, whose vocal cords had been ripped out ages ago, stared into the ceiling as his throat worked around a silent scream.

Wilford let out another manic giggle, high and unhinged, the tone slightly sinister. "I'd ask you questions, but you can't answer."

The man didn't answer, even to make a silent noise of pain. His eyes misted over, losing what light had been in them. Wilford hummed, cutting the final letter into the man's skin. Then he stabbed the knife into the man's skull. While he was quite sure the man was dead, Wilford knew he wouldn't stay that way for long. To the corpse, he whispered, "You really should've known. You don't mess with what's mine." To himself, he added, _or any of the Shadow mafia's_. With that, Wilford turned and left the room.

The reason Wilford had done this, the reason this man had been killed, was that the man had kidnapped three people who meant the word to Wilford, Dark, and the Doctor. Wilford had been tasked with the torture of the man who'd hurt what was theirs. Theirs being his and two others of the mafia. The mafia was run by one of them (Dark Iplier) and the other was the official doctor (Dr. Edward Iplier), Wilford's brothers. "Theirs" referred to their lovers; Jameson Jackson, Anti, and Henrik von Schneepilstien, three brothers from the Septic Clan in the Shadow Mafia territory. See, it was an unspoken rule that while Dark ran the mafia as the most powerful of the family, all of the Iplier brothers (Dark, Wilford, Google, Edward, Silver Shepherd, Bing, the Jims, etc) held authority over the rest of the mafia. As such, all of them had targets on their backs and it made sense for them to be targeted through their lovers.

They'd kidnapped Jameson first. Jameson was the youngest of the Septic Clan and mute. It would be harder to sneak up on someone who didn't make much noise on their own but not impossible. They'd kidnapped him on one of the rare nights Wilford was working late. It was quick, hardly a whisper that they had even been there.

They'd taken Henrik next, ambushing him as he left the office where he and Edward worked. He'd screamed, but no one heard. Edward had been sick and wasn't able to come to the office. The only lead they had was a black car with no license and a black book no one had been able to decipher.

Anti was taken last, using his brother as bait and insurance. Anti never would've gone with them if they hadn't dangled the lives of his brothers in front of him like fishing lures. Anti would've killed them all before they could've done anything, but Anti had come quietly. He'd promised to kill them later.

They would've been foolish not to have believed him, Anti always honored his promises. Especially when his brothers were involved.

The original plan had been to grab Jameson, Henrik, Anti, and Chase, but a last-minute change to Google's day plan meant that Chase had been with Google the entire day and the plan had continued without him.

Wilford knew who'd done it, it was his estranged brother Marc (the Actor) and his small group of killers. The Actor wanted revenge on a misunderstanding from a long time ago, his wife leaving him for Wilford before her death. The Actor wanted Wilford and the rest of his brothers dead and he'd come after the Septics to do it.

Wilford knew Jameson's side of the story. He knew that when Jameson had woken up in the cellar they were kept in, he was chained to a pipe and gagged. Since Jameson couldn't speak, he was rendered effective and completely mute by the loss of his hands to sign. As such, when the other two didn't wake up by the time the Actor came down the stairs, it was Jameson who took the brunt of the anger. Jameson had been beaten into unconsciousness and only woke up when Henrik was calling for him hours later.

Many things happened in the cellar while the three were kidnapped. Anti had stitches and bandages covering his arms, legs, and face. Henrik sported a sling and several bruises. Jameson's wrist had been broken and his left eye had been blackened.

All three of them had been subjected to mental mind games based on things that the Actor had been through.

Anti had been forced to choose over and over who to save in games where his brothers' lives were on the line.

Henrik was subjected to a simulation where he was operating on his brothers again and again with no success.

Jameson was forced to perform like a puppet continuously as he was possessed time and time again.

None of them had deserved this, but the crowning jewel was that the Actor did most of the torture himself. Which meant that he looked remarkably similar to Wilford, Dark, and Edward. Which could cause an issue when one of the three Septics woke up in the middle of the night with nightmares.

_Dapperstache~Dapperstache~Dapperstache_

_"Why won't you talk!" the man shouted, tightening his already bruising grip on Jameson's wrist._

_"Leaf him alone!" cried Henrik, voice hoarse from the screaming he'd done not even twenty minutes previously._

_"H̴̝͐͝ĕ̶̟ ̸̟̕c̵͜a̸̢͚͌͋n̵̞͂'̶̖̓͠t̸̟̀͗ ̸͔̄t̷̙̻̽ä̶̗̲́l̶̫͙͊k̸̬͆!̶̱̅" snapped Anti, voice cracking as his body glitched violently._

_The Actor chuckled humorlessly, "Somehow I don't believe you. Maybe I should give you the proper motivation."_

_With that, his grip strengthened again and Jameson's face contorted in pain, but no sound escaped his throat. Even as he panted, struggling to free his wrist, his useless vocal cords produced no noise. The Actor hummed, then wrenched Jameson's wrist to the side. Jameson's mouth opened in a silent scream as white-hot pain shot up his arm with an audible_ snap.

_"Jamie!" his brothers cried, distraught and horrified._

_Jameson scrambled back as he was released, cradling his arm to his chest. Tears poured down his cheeks as he clenched his teeth, nearly biting his tongue._

_"Jameson?" Henrik called, crawling over the chains that kept them bound to the pipes on the wall. He gently grasped Jameson's injured arm, pulling it closer to examine it._

_Anti glared at the Actor with acidic green eyes. He glitched again, his voice distorting, "I̶̛͙͒'̴̪̜͝l̸̖̏͘l̶͍͆͝ ̵͎͘k̶̙̱̽ī̶͎l̶̥̈́l̷̬͌ ̴̬̺̃y̸̝̤̋ȏ̸̢̧̅ǘ̴̡͜ ̷̧͙̈f̴̼́o̷̙͔͆r̵͇̔ ̴̟̦̾̿t̴͖̊͐ḩ̴͙̂a̶̗̔t̵̨̋̐!̷̧̖̅"_

_The memory warped and suddenly Jameson was alone. Anti's growls faded away and Henrik's gentle grasp on his wrist got harsh as his brother melted into the Actor._

_The Actor gripped his wrist harshly, grinding his injured bones together and leaning forward. "Oh, pretty puppet. Did you think you could escape me?"_

Jameson bolted upright, a silent scream on his lips. He sat there panting for a moment as his heart rate calmed. He glanced around the room and was grateful to find he was in his shared room back home. He was safe in the Ipliers' manor, safe inside the Shadow Mafia's territory. With a sigh, he put his head in his hands.

The door creaked as it opened, letting light from the hallway in. Jameson flinched, looking up, then relaxed as he saw pink in place of the brown he was expecting.

Wilford slipped into the room and closed the door, "Jamsey?"

Jameson offered a weak smile _. Wil,_ he signed.

"Nightmares again, blue jay?" Wilford asked as he came further into the room.

Jameson nodded, _A memory turned bad._

Wilford sighed, then sat on the edge of the bed."It's time for your meds, Jamsey," Wilford offered a pill and a glass of water.

Jameson took them gratefully and down the medication with a sip of water. _Thank you,_ he said, placing the glass on the nightstand.

Wilford nodded, then went silent. Jameson's gaze fell to his knees. Neither of them was sure what to say in the moments after Jameson woke from a nightmare. For Wilford, he was partially afraid that his voice would send Jameson spiraling into panic-induced fear. For Jameson, it was that he wasn't sure how to talk about what had happened without being afraid.

Tonight, Jameson decided, that was going to change. He looked back up and gently patted Wilford's shoulder. When he was looking Wilford in the eye, Jameson lifted trembling hands and told the pink-haired man, _It was about when the Actor broke my wrist. He was angry that I wasn't speaking and broke my wrist to try and get me to talk. Anti promised to kill him for it and Henrik did his best to wrap it up. The Actor left and that was the end of it. In my nightmares, sometimes he comes back._

Wilford hesitated, then wrapped his arms around Jameson and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, Jamsey. I never wanted you in the line of fire. I didn't mean for you to get hurt like that."

Jameson buried his face in Wilford's shoulder, tracing letters on his back. _Not your fault._

Wilford clutched Jameson tighter, "I love you, blue jay."

He felt Jameson smile. _I love you, too._

_Schneepiplier~Schneepiplier~Schneepiplier_

Henrik was hyperventilating. He knew it, it wasn't hard to figure out. He was on the verge of a panic attack; chest tight, knees weak, sweating bullets, his vision grey and warping.

He'd thought he could handle going back to the office. It had been months since they'd been rescued and he'd been itching to get back to his practice. It was fine until he'd looked down at a patient and saw Chase laying unconscious instead of the person he was supposed to be working on. He'd freaked out, told the nurse to get Dr. Ilpier, and rushed for the bathroom. He knew this wasn't a safe idea, the patient was time-sensitive, but he couldn't help it. He was so scared.

"Henrik?" Edward asked as he stepped into the bathroom. "The nurse said you freaked out and ran in here, are you okay?"

In the midst of his panic, Henrik didn't recognize his lover's drawl. Instead, all he heard was an echo and suddenly, he was back in the cellar with Jamie curled up against his side and Anti watching the door so they could rest. All he could hear was dripping water, the cool seeping into his bones, and the fear making his breath short. He could see his own hands covered in his brother's blood, could hear the flatline of a heart monitor, and knew he'd failed to save his brother again.

Henrik scrambled back until his back hit the wall and slid down it. " _Nein, nein,_ please! I can't do it anymore! I do not vant to go back!" he begged.

There was a presence in front of him and he flinched back, head in his hands and eyes squeezed shut as he cowered away from the blows he _knew_ were coming. When they didn't come, Henrik cautiously opened his eyes and glanced in front of himself. The Actor stood there, but he wasn't harsh or malicious. He looked kind and concerned. _It's a trick_ , his mind whispered. Then he registered the low-pitched voice and the easy, patient cadence. He slowly began to register the lack of facial hair and the different parting of the hair. He heard the old nickname no one else called him. He blinked and everything came into focus. "Edvard?"

"I'm here. I'm here, Henry." The other man held out a hand, letting Henrik take it when he was ready.

Henrik launched himself at Edward, wrapping his arms around his lover as tightly as he could manage. "I'm sorry, I couldn't shtay zere."

Edward hugged Henrik back just as tightly, "It's okay, you did well up until now. I can handle it, it'll be alright."

"I sought I could do it. I vas fine until I valked in. It vas Chase on zee table." Henrik lapsed into unintelligible German, sobbing against Edward's shoulder.

"It's okay," Edward murmured, "I'm here."

It wasn't much longer before Henrik cried himself out. He sighed, "Sank you, Edvard."

Edward nodded, "I'm here for you, love. You sound exhausted, have you been sleeping?"

Henrik shook his head, "Too many nightmares."

Edward hummed. "Alright. You go to my office. Try to sleep. I'll handle the surgery."

Henrik wanted to protest, but suddenly, he _felt_ exhausted and he knew he wouldn't be able to help anyone like this. "Okay," he replied. "You'll vake me up soon, _ja_?"

Edward nodded, "Of course. You rest, love. I'll handle it from here."

Henrik nodded back, then stood. He helped Edward to his feet and pressed a kiss to Edwar's cheek. "Sank you, for being here."

Edward smiled, "No where I'd rather be."

_Danti~Danti~Danti_

Anti was quiet more often than not. This didn't normally cause a problem, but when Dark knew that the man was loud every day of his life, it caused a massive issue.

There were days when Anti got loud purely because he couldn't stand the silence. In the silence, he could hear the sounds of people screaming and begging for his help, but every time he heard his own voice beg for his brother to be saved. He cared more about his brothers than he did anyone else. The Actor knew that, that was why nearly a week in, after _hundreds_ of simulations, he started making Anti choose which brother he wanted to save.

If he were a less selfish person, Anti would've stayed far away from all his brothers. But he couldn't, he'd wanted them close. He wanted to assure himself they were still alive, to remind himself that it was only the sick mind games of a man who could warp your perceptions of reality. He'd told each of his brothers what had happened during the time of capture, had recounted every time he'd had to choose between saving them and saving someone else, every time he'd been forced to choose between them. He'd never been able to choose, and each time both brothers had been plunged to certain death below.

All of them had expressed that they didn't blame him for any of it. That they loved their brother regardless.

It was in his dreams and flashbacks where things went horribly wrong.

_It was between Henrik and JJ this time. Either way, he was losing one of his beloved brothers._

_"Choose between them. Or both will die."_

_Anti couldn't help but run to the cages. Somewhere deep in his mind, he knew it wasn't real. He knew JJ had a makeshift cast on his wrist from where the Actor had broken it and Henrik's cheek was bruised from trying to properly set the bone. However, he couldn't distinguish between reality and what the Actor was showing him. He reached JJ's cage first. "_ _J̵̤̇͜J̶͎̹̍?̸̣̖̃́" he asked._

 _The youngest brother was unconscious, or close to it; as his body slowly rose and fell with each breath he took in, eyes glassy and_ _Anti raced for Henrik's cage. "_ _H̸͚̺̃è̵͍ǹ̶̲̬r̷̪̪̃̚i̶̭̥͌k̸̻̋̎,̵̝͝ ̷̛ͅả̷͕͘ŕ̸͈͂e̴̱̣̋͘ ̷̙̌̈́y̸͍͉͌ó̸̦͓̊ư̸̳ ̷͚̟̅͝ò̵̪̓k̶̨͍̿a̸͎̓y̷̻̋͘?̷̦̔̏"_

_Henrik nodded, "I'm alright. I sink."_

_Anti glanced between the cage. "H̵̞̿ẻ̶̪ ̴̡͎̈́̉w̴̹̪͝ã̶̡̓n̸͇̼̐t̴̮̀͛s̶̲̝͛͆ ̶̣̐̄m̷̯̔̎ḙ̵͈͌ ̴̾͜͝t̴͎̟̓o̸̝̤͂ ̸̜̍͘c̴͚̆̿h̸̡͆o̵͍͝ȏ̸̭̹̓s̵͓̱͊e̵͓͂͝ ̸̯͑͑͜b̶̤̜͂͑ḙ̷͓̊͠t̵̡͇͑w̵͉͆͝e̴̹̓̎e̴͕̜̋n̵̫̔̚ ̸̛͈̳̈ỳ̵̼͊o̵̲̖̓̚ư̴̤͝.̸̨̎ ̴̪̆̒I̷̯̠͌̒ ̸̹͆͑͜d̶̦͒̕ȯ̴̗̼̈́ǹ̸̳'̸̰̐ţ̷̺̿̕ ̸͍̹̃̊k̶͎̏͘n̷̝͖͌̋o̸̤͛͜w̶͕͇̽ ̷̩͈̔ī̴̟͎̊f̶̙̣̀͝ ̷̜̭͛̕İ̷͙̑ ̵̺̪͒͋ċ̵̺̗a̶̠̭̐͝n̵͎̠̄!̵̹̏"_

_Henrik looked over at the other cage. "Jameson?"_

_Anti nodded._

_"Well, zen ze choice is clear. You haff to choose JJ," Henrik replied._

_"W̷͙̐̈́h̷̨͂̈́ä̸͚̠́̑̿͝t̸̟̊̉ͅ?̵̡̹̋̃ ̷̬́N̴̢̖̼͋o̶͚̅̅!̸̮̹̅͠ͅ"̵̨̱̈́" Anti cried. "_ _I̴͔̿̇͜ ̶̟̬̹̅ć̸͕͙̝ả̵͓̣̼͐n̵͖͎̹̂̿͂'̷͕̘͑͑͜t̷͇̻̦͒̾͑ ̶͎̊̈́c̸̭̼̹͊h̵̼̣̟̉̅o̴͍̣͠o̸͉͓͛s̵̠̺̬̄̈e̵̮̪͍͝ ̵̪̳̿̐b̸̘̟͒e̷̍́͆͜ţ̵̥̥̾̋ẁ̴̹ë̵̪̪̮e̷̖̼͝ṇ̵͇͇͛͌̌ ̴̥̊̅͝y̵̞͖̌̇ỏ̴̤̈́͝u̷̝͐͑̈!̶͕̓"_

 _"I'm not saying chose betveen us. I'm_ telling _you to chose JJ." Henrik stared at Anti with intense blue eyes._

 _"_ _I̵͎̤̐ ̶̭̙͝͠c̸̰̏ą̵̺̈́͝n̸̙̤͂͝'̶͈͇̀t̶͉͊̍,̶̲͓̀͝ ̶͖̙͊͛H̴̢̡͗͛e̷͚͒̎n̴̛͈̠̈́r̸̤̓ị̸̤̊̓ḵ̶̛̓.̵̙̻͒̈́ ̶̲̫̌͋I̵̢̻̐͂ ̶͖͝c̸̝̿͝a̷͇̼̔̇ń̷͈'̵͎̱̆͊t̴͖̣͒̓ ̴̝͎̎d̵͔̎͋ó̴͍͈͊ ̵̘̝̂͝t̴̥̒̋h̵̫̉̔ȃ̴̞͍t̸̰́͋ ̶̤̠̀͐t̵͇̒͐o̷͙͊̽ ̴̤͓̀̈́y̶̹̓ö̴͕́̀ǘ̶͉͜!̷̹̈́" Anti pleaded, "P̸̨͍͠l̵͇͙̔͋e̵̤̋́ä̴̬́͝s̴̘̠̒̎è̵͎̳͝,̸̠̞̿̕ ̵̳͙̎͘H̸̬̄͌e̷̬̿̌n̶̨̒̽r̸͈͖͑̽i̷̧͝k̷̛̉͜.̴͕̇"_

_Henrik shook his head. "I cannot lif knowing I let Jamezon fall to his death, Anti."_

_Anti looked at Henrik and began sobbing. "H̶̢̽ẻ̴̖̃n̷̛̺̞͐r̷̥̔̂i̷̲͖͌k̵̦̈́," he cried, "Ȋ̵̯̦'̵̨͎̓͘m̶̦͕̿̽ ̵̬̿̂s̵̖̞̃̆o̵͎͆ ̸͓̝̏s̶̪͍͠o̸̤͝r̶̳͑r̶͂͜ͅy̴̠͘.̴̈́̒."_

_"Have you chosen?" asked the voice from before. "Who will be the one to die?"_

_Henrik offered Anti a smile. "It's alright, Anti."_

_Anti met his brother's eyes with his tear-filled, tired blue. "Henrik. I choose Henrik."_

_Henrik saluted, a smile overtaking his face, "_ Auf Wiedersehen, _broser. Until vee meet again." Then a timer buzzed and Henrik dropped into the inky black below the cage._

_Anti didn't break down. He slowly stumbled over to JJ's cage and pulled it open, gathering his brother into his arms and began to pull them away. Once Anti pulled JJ far enough away, he broke down. He collapsed to his knees, pulling JJ into a tight hug. JJ, still entirely out of it, just lolled his head to Anti's shoulder._

Anti blinked awake with tear streaks down his face, hating that this had affected him so much. Don't get him wrong, he loved his brothers, but he was the oldest of them and the strongest. He didn't like to be seen with any sort of emotion other than chaos or rage. He'd been a pillar of strength for his brothers, letting JJ and Henrik break down on him as often as they allowed it themselves.

Now though, that they were on-track for recovery, slowly healing from the torture they'd been through, Anti was flagging. He was finally able to feel everything and he hated every single bit of it.

Dark was helping somewhat, didn't push when he found Anti in the aftermath of a flashback or let him stew in silence when Anti was having a terrible day. As it were now, Dark was still asleep. Anti sniffled, wiping the tears away angrily. Then he leaned over, laying his head on Dark's chest to remind himself that Dark was alive. In a minute, he'd go to the kitchen, where the cameras for the house were and he'd check in on his brothers to make sure they were okay.

For now, though, he contented himself with knowing that the torture they faced hadn't broken him or either of his brothers. He sighed, releasing the tension in his shoulders and relaxing. For now, he let himself drift with the knowledge that he was safe.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no clue how to write an accent and Anti's glitching is done via website. Tell me if I got something wrong and I'll do my best to fix it. Thank you!


End file.
